Can Companies Extend Notice Periods Without Employee Consent? Seeking Advice on My Situation

Notice Period Change Issue

In my appointment/offer letter, my notice period was only 1 month, which I signed and accepted. After 1 year, from some unknown official email ID, I received an email stating that due to project requirements, my notice period would be extended to 2 months. I did not accept this change as it was only conveyed through a formal email and not provided in any written format. Despite this, I resigned from my company, and now HR is informing me that I have to stay for two months. I am seeking your valuable suggestions.

Can Companies Change Notice Periods Without Consent?

If someone says that the company has the right to make changes, does that mean they can email anything without my written acceptance, and I have to comply? I would appreciate it if you could provide me with a solution.

Non-reply sometimes is taken as acceptance. You should have rejected the said mail. Keep this in mind for the future. However, in the present case, you can leave after serving one month notice.

No company can amend the service conditions unless having the consent of the concerned employees. However, if the employee is categorized as a workman, then the company must serve the Notice under Section 9A of the ID Act, 1947, at least 21 days before. Since you have not accepted any amendments to the service agreement, you are only required to serve a one-month notice period as per the clause defined in your appointment letter, which was agreed upon and duly signed by you.

Thanks & Regards,

V. SHAKYA
HR & Labour, Corporate Laws Advisor

Thank you for your reply, Vshakya sir. In your above reply, the company should serve the Notice under section 9A of the ID Act, 1947, at least 21 days before.

If I leave my job after completing my one-month notice period and HR does not provide me with an experience letter and relieving letter because I have to join a new company, what actions can I take against them? As I mentioned earlier, HR is forcing me to stay for two months, whereas my notice period was only one month.

Thank you,
Ank

Hi ANK,

You could have sent a negative reply to that communication regarding the 2-month notice period. However, a mere communication cannot substitute for changing service conditions. Employee acceptance of changes in terms is also crucial. It is unclear whether they revised your salary after this communication. Nevertheless, it would be appropriate to request management to allow you to complete the one-month notice period as per the appointment letter provisions.

Probation Period and Service Conditions

The probation period is mentioned in the appointment letter; it is a term of service agreed upon by both parties. If the organization wants to increase it from 1 to 2 months, it is considered a unilateral change in the service conditions. The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 regulates such changes as specified under the Fourth Schedule. In other words, if the organization wishes to alter the service condition (probation period), it should provide 21 or more days of prior notice to you.

However, if you are working in a supervisory or managerial cadre, the ID Act will not be applicable to you.

Sir,

My company would not provide any written note or something like you mentioned in The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (from E section 9A). They just emailed me, which was a formal notice stating that the notice period would be 2 months.

Based on your response in the previous email, I believe that the email I received is not valid because it was a one-sided communication.

Dear Mr. ANK, has HR communicated with you in writing to serve a two-month notice period, or is it only verbal? When you received the email, did you inquire about the authority who wrote it? Did you respond to the email, agreeing to extend the notice period from one to two months? While unilaterally changing the notice period is illegal and may not hold up under judicial scrutiny, have you checked the level of authority involved? Who is the signing authority for the appointment order? If they insist in writing that you serve a two-month notice period, challenge it and send them a legal notice. Thank you.

The content of the mail can be as follows:

"Dear Sirs,

I have received (communication type) dated hh/dd mentioning that my probation period will be two months. Clause no -- of the appointment letter issued to me mentions that my probation period is one month. When you say now that it will be two months, you have changed my condition of service.

As per Section 9A of The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, read with item 8 of The Fourth Schedule, the employer cannot change the condition of service (my probation period) of an employee without giving prior notice of change.

Hence, you are requested to withdraw (communication type) dated hh/dd mentioning that my probation period will be two months as the same is not legally correct.

If you do not respond to this communication within 7 days, it will be presumed that your disputed communication is null and void.

With regards,

Name"

Actions to Take When HR Does Not Provide Experience and Relieving Letters

If you have completed your one-month notice period and HR is not providing you with an experience letter and relieving letter, which you need to join a new company, there are certain actions you can take.

As I mentioned earlier, HR forced me to stay for an additional two months. My suggestion is to ensure you obtain acknowledgment for all submissions made to them, whether property-related or other documents. Keep copies of all correspondences with the company, including any communication regarding the extended notice period. It's important to get confirmation of the receipt of your resignation from the office or your superior. By having these records, you can effectively explain the situation to your new employer and provide them with a clear understanding of the circumstances.

Thank you.

Should a definite and clear communication mandating a change be considered a notice of change? Or will the language of the communication decide the nature.